Director Adriana Lobo of EMBARQ Mexico delivered policy proposals at the Plenary Session of the Consultation Forum of the National Development Plan, or “Prosperous Mexico,” chaired by Mexican President Peña Nieto on May 9. The proposals were generated by EMBARQ Mexico, together with the Centro Mario Molina and the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness.

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Located at the southern tip of Brazil, the city of Pelotas is home to around 346,000 inhabitants and was the site of recent seminar on urban mobility organized by EMBARQ Brazil. Photo by Roger Amaral Scheridon de Moraes/Flickr.

EMBARQ Brazil’s newest project, “From PAC to Plan”, is an effort to increase technical knowledge on sustainable urban mobility plans. Targeted towards medium-sized cities all over Brazil, the initiative aims to increase the quality of Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) projects and help cities to develop their mobility plans. For two days (May 2-3, 2013), the southern city of Pelotas, which has 346,000 residents, hosted the first of what will be a series of workshops on sustainable mobility planning.

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The transport sector is the second largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Mexico and has witnessed the highest growth rate over the past 10 years. Today over 77% of the Mexican population lives in urban areas that are experiencing growth rates in fossil fuel consumption and in private car ownership.

Cyclists in Porto Alegre, Brazil, can now take advantage of two new bike racks located at the heart of this historic state capital. The Santander Cultural Center sponsored the project at the Alfândega Square, with technical support from EMBARQ Brazil. In total, twelve “inverted-U” racks will provide space to accommodate 24 bicycles.

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CONNECTKaro participants convened in Mumbai, India, to discuss ways in which sustainable transport and urban development can help build a brighter future for India’s cities. Pictured: Children at play in Mumbai. Photo by EMBARQ.

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A driver steers a taxi in Kolkata, India. Photo by Chris JL/Flickr. Cropped.

In 2011, nearly 350 million people lived in Indian cities. More than 300 million new residents will join them over the next few decades to become part of the new urban India. This population boom will stress an already-pressured urban infrastructure system, especially with regard to transportation.

The World Bank and EMBARQ México announced a call for applications closing on April 5, for the 2013 Leaders in Urban Transport Planning capacity building program. The training will be held in Mexico City, April 26 to May 25, 2013.

EMBARQ Turkiye’s BikeLab Istanbul hosted a February 11th workshop, in which experts addressed the role of the bicycle in Turkey’s transportation framework and discussed issues of safety, the design of a bike network, and the challenges of employing the bicycle as a means of transportation in Turkey’s urban areas.